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West Michigan Plumbers Fitters & Service Trades Local #174 Pension Plan
The West Michigan Plumbers Fitters & Service Trades Local #174 Pension Plan provides retirement benefits to union plumbers, pipefitters, and service-trade...
West Michigan Plumbers Fitters & Service Trades Local #174 Pension Plan
The West Michigan Plumbers Fitters & Service Trades Local #174 Pension Plan provides retirement benefits to union plumbers, pipefitters, and service-trade workers in western Michigan from its Coopersville base. As a Taft-Hartley multiemployer defined-benefit plan, contributions are collectively bargained, with governance falling to a joint board of labor and management trustees. The plan's disclosed investment posture centers almost exclusively on private-equity secondaries. Rather than committing to blind-pool primary funds or chasing direct co-investments, the portfolio emphasizes the secondary market for existing LP interests. This structural tilt — unusual for a plan of its likely scale — suggests a deliberate focus on shorter-duration exposure, J-curve mitigation, or discounted pricing achieved by providing liquidity to sellers. The precise holdings are not publicly enumerated, limiting visibility into GP relationships or exposure by vintage. Total asset and participant figures are not publicly disclosed. The plan reports to the Department of Labor under required ERISA filings, though detailed sizing and actuarial data rarely appear in accessible formats. No associated foundation or co-investment vehicle has been identified in public record. The structural differentiator is concentration risk by design. Where multiemployer pension plans commonly diversify across broad public equity, fixed income, and real-asset allocations, Local #174's heavy secondaries mandate functions as a sustained bet on discounted private-markets access — a posture that links the retirement security of its plumbers and pipefitters directly to the secondary-pricing environment.
General information
Firm type
Pension Fund
Year founded
1988
AUM
Undisclosed
Location
Region
North America
Country
United States
City
Coopersville
Corporate office
Coopersville, MI, United States
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who oversees investment decisions for the West Michigan Plumbers & Fitters Local #174 Pension Plan?
The plan is governed by a joint Board of Trustees composed of labor representatives from Local #174 and management representatives from contributing employers. The trustees act as named fiduciaries and are responsible for setting investment policy, selecting managers, and monitoring portfolio performance. Specific trustee names and the presence of an investment consultant or outsourced chief investment officer are not detailed in publicly available materials.
Why does Local #174's plan concentrate so heavily on private-equity secondaries?
Public record indicates the strategy is overwhelmingly weighted toward secondaries, which suggests the trustees prioritize reduced blind-pool risk and a shorter path to distributions compared to traditional primary fund commitments. Secondaries can offer greater pricing transparency at entry and earlier cash flows, which may align with a plan demographic that demands nearer-term liquidity. The precise rationale is not stated publicly by the board.
Does the plan make direct investments or only fund commitments?
Available disclosures point almost entirely to secondary-market activity, where the plan acquires existing LP interests from other investors rather than making direct company investments or pledging to new primary funds. No direct lending, real-asset, or stand-alone direct private-equity programs are evident in the described mandate.
What asset classes beyond secondaries does the plan hold?
The plan's stated investment strategy is singularly focused on secondaries within private equity. There is no public evidence of separate allocations to public equities, fixed income, infrastructure, or real estate. Whether this concentration represents the entire plan or is the dominant sleeve within a broader portfolio is unclear from accessible filings.
How large is the West Michigan Plumbers & Fitters Local #174 Pension Plan?
The plan does not disclose its asset size publicly, and it does not appear in major pension databases with a confirmed AUM figure. As a single-local multiemployer plan for plumbers and pipefitters in western Michigan, it is likely modestly scaled relative to national or state-level pension systems — a characteristic that makes its concentrated secondaries posture more notable.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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